There are people out there who love street racing ya know. Doesnt matter who or what against any race is a bit of fun to them. Some people just love to drive fast and dangerous nothing you can do about it really. Theres always gonna be bad people among the good.

I don't think I would have attempted the overtake just before the NSL sign. You do not know whether or not the driver intends to accelerate firmly as he passes the speed limit change. Obviously the driver shouldn't speed up once you are alongside but that possibility is factored into your decision to overtake. The possibility, is just too great when driving into an NSL.

This is very much my view. I would have not attempted the overtake just before the NSL sign. Plus having watched the video several times, your seem move out very abruptly and then accelerate for the overtake, but then ease off and stop accelerating.

Personally I don't tend to stop accelerating until I have passed the vehicle and can return to the nearside.

Additionally in the early footage, it seems that the Audi is doing a reasonable job of keeping a good pace and there is a fair gap between you two. In this situation I cannot see what can be achieved by you overtaking them other than you are in front of them.

Whilst he's undoubtedly a tool for hanging you out to dry, is there an chance that he was simply accelerating up to the limit and failed to notice you? There was a thread on here recently about this, coming out of an NSL and being overtaken, and so having to abort any plans of accelerating...

I'd possibly believe that if the Audi hadn't positioned over the central dividing line as well as giving it a big pulse of loud pedal only when the OP got alongside. My first mantra for clients is that everyone on the road is an idiot, and that includes you. If you drive so that you're not reliant on another road user doing something or not doing something for your primary safety then you only have to deal with your own mistakes.

Equally, I might have been disinclined to go for that one, based on the following reasoning:

1. I'm in a diesel mondeo compared with a 4.2 Audi Q7 - we're entering a drag race (you started before the NSL sign whereas he didn't) that I can't win unless the other guy lets me (see mantra 1 above)

2. I'm not going to make much progress beyond that overtake - there are other cars in front and a reasonable amount of oncoming traffic - so it's an overtake for ego rather than an overtake for progress. Chances for boiling the urine of the driver in front are high.

But, plenty of kudos here for seeing it was a losing battle and getting out of danger and maintaining composure - right up until the point where you considered it essential to exchange the time of day with the other driver - again see mantra 1 above.

I do think that you were a little premature overtaking like that... And I say this because I did exactly the same manoeuvre last weekend, except my car was more powerful than the one I overtook when I did mine there was a traffic cop parked in a lay-by who did nothing (perfectly legal if misjudged and unnecessary).

I think I would have positioned myself so it was clear I was going to overtake and then let him either accelerate to 60mph or take. Of course, it's easy to say that from the comfort of your own sofa!

Finally, there were obvious signs that the overtake wasn't on... Audi Q7, you should know better

This is very much my view. I would have not attempted the overtake just before the NSL sign. Plus having watched the video several times, your seem move out very abruptly and then accelerate for the overtake, but then ease off and stop accelerating.

Personally I don't tend to stop accelerating until I have passed the vehicle and can return to the nearside.

Additionally in the early footage, it seems that the Audi is doing a reasonable job of keeping a good pace and there is a fair gap between you two. In this situation I cannot see what can be achieved by you overtaking them other than you are in front of them.

Can I ask what car you were driving?

The OP said a 2.2 diesel Mondeo.

I'm of this opinion too. Although we don't see much of the Audi prior to the overtake it does seem from his entry and exit of the roundabout that he isn't dawdling. It would be reasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he would accelerate once past the NSL sign. I also don't believe he's 'flooring it' until the point at which he pulls forward swiftly, at which point the OP is running out of road anyway. Given the comparitive power of the two vehicles maybe he feels he is accelerating only moderately and wonders why the OP isn't getting a move on. At the point he does pull ahead perhaps he feels as though somebody had to do something decisive like either accelerate hard or brake / back off and given the OP's unwillingness to fall back behind him took matters into his own hands?

I'm just playing devil's advocate btw, I still think the Q7 driver was a bit of a cock.

My foot was pressed hard against the firewall from the moment I pulled out til I realised the Q7 was having a good attempt at blocking my path. Getting concerned about the lack of visibility if I continued trying to get past I lifted off, you can see the nose of the car dip, then dip a bit more as I apply light braking - thats why the Q7 appears to suddenly dart off. I'm unsure if he was in the wrong gear or just not absolutely flat out, he should pull away easily from my car possibly stunted by my considerable head start.

As I start to overtake you see the Q7 dissapearing quite quickly but by the time his wing mirror / headlight dissapears you can see its accelerating hard as it slips out of view much slower.

The car is a 2.2 Mondeo, not fast but not desperately slow either. It was a pull from probably about 30 to probably exceeding NSL by the time I called it quits.

I don't usually read the badges on the backs of cars prior to overtaking them (you'd be following too closely to be able to do this anyway) and Q7's are usually in 3.0 TDi guise which would have been easily dispatched given the head start I had. The road in question offers a few more overtaking opportunities so progress could have been made but once bitten twice shy it would have been silly to try and overtake the Audi again hence returning to keeping a safe distance.

Thanks for the input, I'll definitely think twice before overtaking something potentially faster in the same place again (it is my daily commute run). Either that or buy a faster vehicle.

A perfectly safe place to overtake someone who you believe is going to be driving slowly (my definition of slowly includes >95% of drivers); and as others have pointed out, if you ain't got that read on them then while I would have personally probably gone for it anyway, playing the probability game and he doesn't seem to be after the car in front, I would have been mindful of suck prick-ish driving especially if they wanted to drive "quickly" (by their definition) and thought you weren't given them a chance... I dunno where you've been so no idea what if anything you have thought about that driver beforehand. Care to share?

I would certainly not have flashed him though afterwards... what's the point?

I would certainly not have flashed him though afterwards... what's the point?

Point taken onboard, very true nothing could be gained other than voicing my displeasure.

Thanks for that input, I'll try and keep off the lights in future.

Beforehand he had pulled out of a industrial estate, probably 1/4 mile from where the video starts so I didn't have enough information on his driving to judge 100% how fast he was going to go. I put my money on it though if I hadn't gone for the overtake he would not have accelerated as he did once he got to NSL.

Audi man looked to making reasonable progress but yours was a lovely pre-emptive overtake, you obviously know the road, it looked dynamic, well timed and anticipated, it may have scared a unsuspecting passenger but otherwise was spot on.

Nothing wrong with flashing either, simply letting the Audi driver know it's not on and not unnoticed.

I don't think I would have attempted the overtake just before the NSL sign. You do not know whether or not the driver intends to accelerate firmly as he passes the speed limit change.

I agree with that - I use a road every weekend that merges into a NSL road but remains 40 for a couple of hundred yards. It's on a left bend and now and again there were be a traffic policeman with a laser gun hiding there, so I stick to 40 ish. Few other people do - they overtake me, then sit in front of me at 50.

OK, the Q7 had clear site of the NSL but even if he's not that law abiding it would be sensible to hang back - for all he knew the OP's Mondeo could have been an unmarked police car.